Back when Kinka Izakaya first opened, waiting an hour or two for a table was a regular part of dinner. While in line, people often ducked into the small store next door to grab a bite to tide them over. Now, Kinka’s neighbour has turned into a draw of it’s own, the 5th location of Kinton Ramen. I was invited to drop by the latest franchise addition to slurp up a bowl of noodles.

My usual order at Kinton is the miso pork broth with thick noodles, blowtorched pork belly and a seasoned egg. Lately though, I’ve fallen for Kinton’s chicken breast topping. Cooked sous-vide, the slices of chicken are super tender, juicy and rich in flavour. That night, I added jalapeno paste to be bowl, not too spicy, but added fragrance to the bowl. My friend had the miso ramen, with thin noodles, pork topping (a slice each of pork shoulder and belly), topped with nori and a seasoned egg. Other toppings at Kinton I like are the corn (included with the miso broth) and grated garlic. I usually try not to order the garlic if I’m out with friends because it is potent, a definite immune booster.

Between the pork shoulder and belly, the shoulder was much leaner and a good alternative for anyone who find the belly too fatty. The broth was thick, opaque and savoury.

For drinks, I sipped on the house-made lemonade while my friend ordered the calpico. Both drinks were refreshing, light and a good sidekick to the rich broth. Kinton also offers a small selection of cold and hot tapas, including takoyaki, tako wasabi and karaage. I got to try a new tapas item, the hot karaage. The bite size pieces of juicy fried chicken was coated in a spicy, Korean sauce. This was a delicious twist on one of my favourite dishes at both Kinka and Kinton. Both the takoyaki and tako wasabi were consistent with their otherlocations.

Like most Kinton locations, the restaurant was packed at dinner time. I would recommend visiting either earlier (5:30pm), later (8pm), or be prepared for a bit of a wait.